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Liberty Van Zandt
Liberty Van Zandt is a character on the TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation. She is played by Sarah Barrable-Tishauer. Background Liberty until graduation lived at home with her parents and younger brother Danny. She was often seen as a know-it-all, and tended to get jealous easily. Over the years she has toned down her need to be the best and is very outgoing around her friends. Underneath her ambitious exterior, she is really just a loving and empathectic person. Her best friends are Manny and Emma, her relationship with Emma has remained hot/cold over the years but until college they have gotten closer. Liberty and Manny remain with their tight grip as best friends and always have each others back. Life at Degrassi 2001-2002 (Seventh Grade) Liberty first appeared in the third episode. She was running for student council secretary, and was an avid supporter of Ashley in her bid for presidency. She also found herself in the middle of a controversy when Emma saw Mr. Armstrong getting close to her. Emma believed that Armstrong was abusing Liberty. When she told Manny, Terri happened to overhear the conversation. Eventually, the rumor spread all over the school. As it turns out, Liberty had dyscalculia, a learning disability affecting her ability to learn math. Armstrong was only tutoring her. Liberty asked Ashley to let her to the morning announcements. Ashley refused, but eventually gave in. However, she set it all up so Liberty would be humiliated on camera. When it actually happened, Ashley regretted it deeply. She found Liberty crying in the bathroom, and gave her another, and better, chance. When Liberty did well, Ashley promised to let her do some of the announcments from now on. This was also the year she developed a crush on J.T., much to his chagrin. No matter what he did, Liberty refused to give up her pursuit of J.T. J.T even tried to be gay so Liberty would stop bugging him but he still tricked her into helping him win a million dollars in Wannabe. 2002-2003 (Eighth Grade) Liberty's eighth grade year was nowhere near as hectic as her previous year. The biggest obstacle she had to overcome was when she was named manager of the girls' floor hockey team. She was very over-bearing, and her attitude drove away nearly all the members on the team. Liberty apologised to the team and even though they didn't win, Joey decided to sponsor them along with the boys' team. She also showed her jealously when Emma won the school's science fair. After finding out that Emma's mother was dating Mr. Simpson, Liberty demanded that Emma give up the trophy, as she felt that she was the rightful winner of the competition. Simpson later said that all the judges unanimously agreed that Emma's was the best. Liberty still had a crush on J.T but clumsily almost got him expelled by decorating his locker and the latter being punished for vandalism. Liberty owned up and J.T apologised for calling her boring. When J.T realized he had a talent in sowing, Liberty took the credit so he wouldn't be teased. Liberty blackmailed J.T into making her a skirt but she still reaveled his secret without being malicious. Kendra, Emma and Manny asked J.T if he could make them a skirt too, so Toby layed off. Near the end of the year, Liberty forces J.T to take her to the Hawaiian-themed dance. 2003-2004 (Freshman Year) After years of trying to get J.T., she finally gave up and decided to look for a new boyfriend. She decided to go for Sean. Liberty tried everything, even dressing up in what she considered to be "tough" clothes. This lead to Sean calling her "as edgy as a butter knife." Saddened, Liberty felt that she would never find a boyfriend. Sean approached her and informed her that one of his friends, Towerz, had a crush on Liberty. The two began dating, although they were never seen interacting on-camera. Ironically, when Liberty was dating Towerz, J.T had a wet dream about her. However, J.T had a crush on Manny and stated that the dream meant nothing. 2004-2005 (Sophomore Year) At the beginning of the year, Liberty revealed that she and Towerz had broken up over the summer. She then began to set her eyes on the newly-single Chris Sharpe. When Emma found out, she tried to win Chris back, saying that it would ruin her reputation if Chris began dating Liberty after her. When she found out, Liberty dismissed Emma and it appeared the two would no longer be friends. Single once again, Liberty decided to try one more time to get J.T. After working together on a school play, the two realized that they both loved each other, and soon became a couple in - of all places- detention (they had gotten into trouble for writing a poem about MR.Raditch and refused to apologise). Danny, Liberty's brother and J.T's friend, was not pleased about Liberty and J.T's relationship stating "my sister's the smartest girl in school and you don't even have an IQ!". Danny attacked J.T and Liberty was angry because she thought J.T had hurt Danny. Danny realized that J.T made Liberty happy and the three sorted everything out. 2005-2006 (Junior Year) Early on in the year, J.T knew something was wrong with Liberty especially after her driving lesson. When Liberty revealed this to J.T, he crashed into a stop sign on the way to school. Liberty took a pregnancy test and told J.T that she couldn't trust him to handle "this". J.T felt insulted and said that he couldn't deal with her and they broke up. J.T vowed that he wouldn't abandon Liberty or their baby. Liberty and J.T decided to keep the baby and they got back together because they were in love. Liberty was fearful of telling her parents because she was afraid they would kick her out, so she made plans with J.T to move in with him. J.T began working at a pharmacy but turned to selling Oxycodone to support Liberty and their baby. When Liberty found out, she was furious. J.T overdosed on Oxycodone but thanks to Jay, he survived but was put on suicide watch. Liberty confronted a tearful J.T and told him that she was going to give the baby up for adoption. The two broke up. Also, when Danny found out he made J.T do his homework as payback but eventually decided to do the mature thing and support his sister. Later on, Liberty's coucil duties and overachieving begins to affect her condition. Although J.T and her are not on speaking terms, Toby becomes their messenger and when he informs J.T of what Liberty's doing, J.T tells Ms.H and she takes some pressure off Liberty. Liberty then goes into labor and gets to hold her new born son before handing him over to his adoptive parents. Afterward, Liberty regrets her decision and turns to alcohol to comfort her sorrows. When her son's parents announce they are moving to Seattle, Liberty and J.T put together a memories box, so that one day their child can find them and learn about them. The two seem to be friends again and they definately still have feelings for each other. 2006-2007 (Senior Year) After having a rough previous year, Liberty hoped that her senior year would be the best year of her life. That changed when Mia Jones and her daughter Isabella moved to Degrassi. J.T., who Liberty still had feelings for, started dating Mia. In a fit of jealousy, she told Mia about everything J.T. did to her the previous year. However, J.T. was able to straighten everything out with Mia. On Liberty's eighteenth birthday, Manny and Emma threw a party for her. Via word of mouth, hundreds of people, including Drake Lempky and Johnny DiMarco from Lakehurst, showed up. At the party, Liberty confessed to J.T. her true feelings for him. J.T responded that he had a girlfriend but Liberty asked if he loved Mia, before running off. After talking to Toby, J.T. sought out Liberty. Sadly, he was stabbed by Drake, and Liberty was the one who found him dying. She was at the hospital when everyone found out he had passed away. After J.T.'s funeral, Liberty, in an emotional tailspin, developed feelings for Toby. She also refused to have Mia participate in anything honoring J.T. But after Toby revealed to Mia that J.T. still loved Liberty, she had a change of heart and agreed to let Mia do what she wanted. Liberty was so affected by J.T's death, she dreamt of him lying on her bed with her, before telling him that he was dead. During the second semester of Liberty's senior year, Lakehurst burned down and the Lakehurst students integrated into Degrassi. After breaking up a fight between her brother Danny and a Lakehurst student (later revealed to be Lucas), Lucas taunts Liberty by saying that J.T. asked for his death. This sends Liberty into a rage, only to have the fight broken up by Spinner. Towards the end of her senior year, Liberty and Emma's boyfriend Damian find that they're attracted to each other, although Liberty feels guilty because she is Emma's friend. At prom, Liberty and Damian sneak off together and make out. Manny sees them sneak off, and privately confronts Liberty. Toby, who openly likes Liberty, loudly says "Oh, I won't tell anyone that Liberty and Damian fooled around and now he's bragging about it.". Emma is angry and dumps Damian, and at graduation, Toby, Emma, and Manny are angry at Liberty also. They forgive her after she gives her valedictorian speech about the importance of friendship, and decide that they don't want to throw away six years of friendship. After the graduation ceremony is over, the four of them stand at the J.T. Yorke Memorial Zen Garden and Toby places a graduation cap on it. 2007-2008 (Freshman at Smithdale University) In the eighth season premiere Uptown Girl Part 1, it was revealed that Liberty attends Smithsdale University with Manny and Emma(however in We Built This City, Liberty revealed that she was attending Banting University). Despite befriending her original dorm roommate, Emma managed to speak to the Housing Department where she managed to get Liberty and Manny to live with her along with a student named Kelly. The three girls assumed Kelly was a female, however it was later revealed that Kelly is indeed a male. In Didn't We Almost Have It All, Liberty decides to pledge for an elite sorority at Smithsdale. Her original plan was to pledge in her mother's original sorority, however her plans changed when she was recruit to another sorority(Pi Gamma Pi). While she begins blending in with the sorority, she realizes that the girls are beginning to stereotype her when they assumed she is from an underprivileged background, that J.T. died in a gang fight, and that she is good at hip-hop dancing. She is reluctant at first, but then she begins to try the party-girl lifestyle, and anything to join the sorority. When she is accepted and another fellow black girl is not, Liberty realizes that the sorority just needed a token. In Jane Says Liberty was seen as part of the Degrassi Alumni football team. Relationships *Trey "Towerz" Hightower **Start Up: "Accidents Will Happen, Part 2" (315) **Broke Up: Summer before "Ghost In The Machine, Part 1" (401) ***Reason: Unexplained but they were both extremely different. *J.T. Yorke **First Relationship ***Start Up: "Voices Carry, Part 2" (412) ***Broke Up: "Foolin'" (504) ****Reason: Liberty is too controlling. **Second Relationship ***Start Up: "Turned Out, Part 1" (507) ***Broke Up: "Turned Out, Part 2" (508) ****Reason: J.T. "NEARLY" commits suicide by overdosing on oxycodone. * continued to like her.